The first year of college can be rough, especially when you’ve been separated from your best friends. My two closest friends in the whole wide world live over 1,000 miles away; one in Washington State and one in Texas. Missing them sucks, but I’ve found a way to view this distance in a positive light, being thankful I have them in my life and finding ways to make it all work.
Here are my top 6 tips on how to deal with long distance friendships:
1. Plan dates
Call or Skype each other and stick to them like you would an actual date. (I'm the worst at this but doing my best to improve) Getting caught up in your busy lives away at college makes it easy to forget to schedule time in for your BFF, but it's necessary if you want to have those long conversations about the meaning of life.
2. Keep up.
The best way to do this is by obsessively stalking their every move on social media if they are active on it (okay, maybe don't go crazy). If they aren’t on Instagram/Snapchat/Twitter, please let them know it's 2016 and they need to come out from under the rock. Or, if you're feeling less feisty and a little more kind, just chat with them a little almost every day.
3. Ask questions
When you're not meeting up after school in-person with your best friend all the time, being invested in their day-to-day life can fall to the wayside. Questions can be menial and as unimportant as "How was your day?" but you are still taking the time to treat them with interest and kindness (just make sure it's genuine and you're not just going through the motions). Or, if you feel like getting a bit more meaningful, "Is morality subjective or objective?" and "Can we ever view our lives objectively?" Asking questions is an excellent way to never stop learning things about each other.
4. Be affectionate
You can't be there to hug them every day like you wish you could, so you must find other ways to show your love (if that’s your thing). Send them a picture when you see something that reminds you of them, text them a simple good morning or goodnight, recommend they read/watch/do something you think they’d love and say I love you.
5. Keep Busy
Laying around all day gives you too much time to miss your best friend. Filling up your days with busy-work, happy distractions and outings with friends you actually live close to helps to keep your mind off of the negative feelings.
6. Plan for the future
From experience, I know that time spent away is more bearable when you've planned the next time you'll see each other. Looking forward to visiting each other or a joint vacation and counting down the days is such a happy excitement. It sure beats moping around. That means it's time to start planning for spring break.
7. Make the most of every day you spend together
Spending all day together binge-watching Scandal can be fun if you live 20 minutes away from each other but when states (or even countries) separate the two of you, find a way to spend your time in a way that cherishes it, and creates a distinct memory. Trust me, you aren't going to remember one day out of a thousand spent watching Netflix. Try new things, seek adventures and talk all night, creating memories that will tide you over until the next time you get to see each other.
Signing off with some typical best friend pics of the two most amazing girls I know:
